Mountains Of Trash Proposed Dade Storm Debris May Be Piled For Acres

October 10, 1992|By DANA BANKER, Staff Writer

Dade County is planning a monument to Hurricane Andrew: a mountain of trash the storm left behind.

County officials envision a large swath of land where the remains of 217,000 ravaged homes and businesses will be temporarily stockpiled. A huge bonfire will burn clean debris, chippers will grind trees and workers will sort recyclable trash.

County officials are not sure how big a job lies ahead; they still cannot estimate how much debris Andrew created.

In uprooted trees and other yard trash alone, however, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that by last week it had taken 5.6 million cubic yards to its 12 burn sites. If stacked in one place, that amount would fill the Orange Bowl and rise more than 333 stories high.

And those figures don`t include trash that has been taken to four county-run burn sites and another 47 privately run bonfires. Officials are just getting ready to collect the construction debris that cannot be burned.

All told, state officials have estimated Andrew`s mess may fill 30 years` worth of landfill space -- a daunting prospect, because Dade was short on landfill space before the storm hit.

The proposed monster trash dump is being called a ``mega-site`` -- a huge operation that would dwarf the various burn and stockpile centers that now dot the county. Some of those so-called small sites are on as much as 40 acres; some have mounds of debris that rival four-story buildings.

The mega-site would give the county time to cope with the debris that cannot be burned while garbage haulers find its final resting place.

``It would be in place one year minimum, two years maximum,`` assistant county manager Tony Clemente said. ``The size of the site depends on (haulers`) ability to get the material out of there.``

Dade has asked more than 120 garbage firms to compete for a contract to coordinate the cleanup, a job county officials expect will cost at least $100 million. Dade has given haulers wide latitude to come up with plans.

``They`ve opened the concept up more to let industry tell us the alternatives,`` said Debbie Higer, chief of service development for Dade`s solid waste division.

Said David Ettman, spokesman for the Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management: ``Someone might even propose putting (construction debris) on a ship and sending it to Haiti,`` where forests have been destroyed and lumber is precious.

Clemente said much of the debris should go to private landfills outside the county. Dade may also have to make room for a third landfill.

While Broward needs more trash to fill its two huge incinerators and avoid paying a penalty to the company that owns them, the burners do not have enough excess capacity to put a dent in the Dade debris.

Paul Claerbout, who manages Broward`s north incinerator, said he cannot imagine the amount of land Dade would need for its mega-site.

``You`re going to need some sizable chunk of real estate,`` he said. ``I can`t even see a 100-acre site taking all that material.``

Said Higer: ``All I can tell you is that it`s an extraordinary amount.``